TOWNSEND — SWAT officers were called to assist in arresting a Westminster man and his girlfriend, who were wanted on a combined 11 warrants, after an hourslong standoff in which the pair allegedly barricaded themselves inside a home and refused repeated orders to surrender.
The Townsend Police identified the suspects during the incident, which began around 9:15 p.m. Tuesday and stretched into the early morning hours Wednesday, as Matthew Francis, 37, of Westminster, who was wanted on nine warrants for larceny, receiving stolen property and shoplifting, and his girlfriend, Deanna Shattuck, 40, of Townsend, who had two warrants for receiving stolen property and drug possession.
Police said they requested the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council SWAT team after developing concern that Francis may have armed himself with a kitchen knife inside the home at 2 Kaneohe Court — listed in court records as Shattuck’s residence — and the tactical team later used pepper spray when negotiations failed…